Wisconsin Addiction Treatment and Info

Substance abuse and addiction are prevalent themes all across the world, as well as in the United States and states like Wisconsin. With more than 5.8 million residents, it is not surprising in the slightest that the state has experienced high rates of drug and alcohol abuse over the past several decades.

Addiction in Wisconsin

With its rolling forests, abundant farmland and sweeping Great Lakes coastal regions, Wisconsin is an amazingly beautiful state to both work and reside in. But despite this, way too many Wisconsin residents suffer from poor health and plummeting quality of life as a result of the effects of drug addiction.

Opioids, especially heroin, are to blame for a lot of cases in Wisconsin where families have suffered due to a member being addicted. From 2013 to 2014, 4% of persons aged 12 and above admitted to having used prescription painkillers in a non-medical way. Wisconsin's four percent rate equaled national levels at this time.

Young adults had the highest rates of prescription painkiller abuse at just slightly below 10%. Levels of abuse have remained unchanged at four percent since 2011.

In addition to heroin, other forms of illicit drug abuse are problematic in Wisconsin, with trends which are similar to the national ones. Synthetic marijuana, methamphetamine, marijuana and cocaine are all illicit drugs abused in the state which can lead to bodily harm and addiction.

Commonly Abused Substances in Wisconsin

There are numerous substances used and abused in the state of Wisconsin. However, some of these are admittedly more prevalently abused than others. The information that follows highlights the most common drugs here:

1. Synthetic Cannabinoids (Synthetic Marijuana, K2, and Spice)

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services has issued warnings on severe bleeding that could occur after using synthetic cannabinoids. From March 30 through early July of 2018, at least 45 cases were reported to the Division of Public Health. Thirty-three of these were confirmed. Confirmed cases were in the counties of Rock, Outagamie, Milwaukee and Dane counties.

2. Alcohol

Wisconsin ranked 23rd in the nation in the excessive drinking and low capita spending on public health programs category. The state also ranked as the outright worst in the US in 2018 for excessive drinking, with approximately 24% of adults regularly drinking to excess. By comparison, Utah, which ranked as the number one ranked state for the least amount of alcoholism, recorded about 12% of adults who drank to excess.

Some 22.5% of adults in located in the Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis metro area either binge or heavily drink. It has one of the highest excessive drinking rates of any metro area, and well above the national excessive drinking rate of 18.0%.

Excessive drinking rates in the state of Wisconsin are a lot higher outside of the urban areas. Across the state, 26.2% of adults drink to excess, with this being the largest share of any state in the country. Of the 12 metro areas in located in the state, Green Bay is the only one that has a higher excessive drinking rate than the state of Wisconsin as a whole.

3. Cocaine

According to Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS), 1,514 people entered substance abuse treatment in the year 2010 for smoking cocaine. Another 270 people ingested cocaine by other means, largely via snorting the drug.

4. Marijuana

According to Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) of the year 2010, the data showed that marijuana is the most prevalently cited drug among the primary drug treatment admissions in Wisconsin. There were a reported 2,817 people that were admitted into drug and alcohol rehab programs for marijuana addiction. 77.9 % of these individuals were male while 22.1% were female. The largest age demographic that used marijuana stood at 21-25 years of age.

In data that was collected in the years 2013 and 2014, 7 percent of teens between the 12 and 17 admitted to using marijuana in the past four weeks. Adults between 18 and 25 reported a past-month marijuana use rate of 18%. For adults that were 26 and above, only 5 percent reported past-month cannabis use or abuse. Among high school students in general, over 30 percent admitted to using marijuana at least once in their life.

5. Amphetamines

According to Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) of 2010, there were close to 310 people who attended rehab programs for dependence on amphetamines. 57.5% of these were male while 42.5% were female. 30.5% of these patients belonged to the 26-30 year old range.

6. Prescription Drugs

In 2010, there were 1,709 people who entered rehab programs for opiates other than heroin.

Between the years 2005 and 2014, Wisconsin residents aged between 12 and 25 showed an increase in the admittance to publicly funded treatments for prescription drug abuse.

In data sets collected in 2013 and 2014, 9% of adults aged between 18 and 25 admitted to using pain relievers for reasons that were nonmedical in the past year. Teenagers aged between12 and 17 reported such indiscriminate usage at a rate of 5 percent. For adults who were 26 years of age and older, the rate was 3 percent.

In the year 2013, fifteen percent of high school students in the state reported they had used prescription drugs for nonmedical use at least once in their lifetime.

Drug Related Injuries and Fatalities in Wisconsin

As a direct consequence of drug use, 639 persons died in Wisconsin in 2007. This is compared to the number of persons in Wisconsin who died from motor vehicle accidents (809) and firearms (488) in the same year. Wisconsin drug-induced deaths (11.4 per 100,000 residents) were registered lower than the national rate of 12.7 per 100,000.

Since the year 2010, Heroin overdose deaths have risen by nearly 323 percent, from 92 to 389 deaths. Synthetic opioid deaths rose by 336 percent, from 66 to 288 deaths. It needs mentioning that these deaths were primarily from Fentanyl. Prescription opioid deaths climbed percent 34 percent, from 285 to 382 deaths.

In the year 2016, the Wisconsin's rate of opioid-related overdose deaths was higher than that of the country, at 15.8 deaths per 100,000 people and 13.3 deaths per 100,000, respectively.

In 2017, there were 926 overdose deaths involving opioids in Wisconsin — a rate of 16.9 deaths per 100,000 persons, and higher than the national rate of 14.6 deaths per 100,000 persons.

The greatest increase in opioid deaths was seen in cases which involved synthetic opioids, with Fentanyl being the major culprit: a rise from 56 deaths in 2012 to 466 deaths in 2017.

Addiction Prevention in Wisconsin

Wisconsin offers several programs which are designed to curb the growing rates of substance abuse among the locals. And with so many teenage users and abusers of drugs, many of these programs are tailored so that they are impactful on youths who may be easily steered to drug use. Some examples of these programs include:

a) Long-Term State Plans

Healthiest Wisconsin 2020 is a 10-year state plan which seeks to improve the lifetime health of the residents of Wisconsin. One of 23 areas of focus is committed to cutting down on alcohol and drug abuse via prevention, proper screening and intervention.

b) Law Revisions

The Wisconsin Good Samaritan Law, altered in 2014, was changed to offer greater protection for persons who witnessed a drug overdose, better enabling these individuals to seek help.

c) Standing Order for Naloxone

This statewide standing order empowers pharmacies to dispense naloxone, which is a life-saving antidote for opioid overdose, to people who are at risk of overdosing or those who could give life-saving aid in this kind of situation.

Addiction Treatment in Wisconsin

In addition to the preventative programs in place, the state has a vast variety of addiction treatment and rehab programs available. These programs offer unique and highly personalized recovery services to admitted clients.

In 2010, 29,358 persons were admitted to alcohol and drug treatment programs for drug abuse. 70.8% of these were male while 29.2% were female. According to the National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services (N-SSATS) annual surveys, the number of drug and alcohol rehab facilities in the state has decreased from 324 in 2002, to 290 in 2006.

For marijuana use and other illicit drugs, the rates in Wisconsin for all age groups have either been at or just below the national rate. Rates of past-year alcohol dependence here in Wisconsin have remained higher than the national rates across all the years of survey. This is particularly true for young adults age 18 to 25. Rates of past year drug dependence; however, have generally been below the national rates.

Consider the following categories of substance abuse treatment and rehab services that are available in Wisconsin:

i) Intervention Services

A professional interventionist attends to persons who are close to the person experiencing addiction in a bid to design an intervention. An intervention outlines the toll that drug abuse has taken on the addicted person and those who love and look out for them. It outlines an appropriate plan of treatment, with the ultimate objective of motivating them to actively seek assistance.

ii) Medical Detox

Without professional help and medical support, withdrawal symptoms and cravings may push an addicted person to relapsing. A medical detoxification program provides round the clock medical support as the person's body works on healing. This treatment helps to protect a person from relapsing and it prepares them for the very next stage of treatment.

To help a person so that he or she is more comfortable and to minimize or even prevent withdrawal symptoms and cravings, the appropriate medications may be administered as is needed. Due to withdrawal symptoms that may be potentially dangerous, even lethal, individuals addicted to opioids, benzodiazepines and alcohol ought to consider a detox program.

iii) Inpatient Addiction Treatment

After a person has completed any necessary detox, it's time to address the psychological and behavioral aspects of addiction in an inpatient drug and alcohol rehabilitation program.

Wisconsin inpatient drug rehab programs offer a residential setting and intensive therapies that help a person address the social, mental, emotional and even spiritual impact of addiction. These tailored therapies help a person to adopt the relapse-prevention and sober-living skills that work best for their needs.

Living on-site at a treatment facility gives each client the chance to be immersed in a therapeutic community. Throughout the course of their day, residents have the chance to build meaningful relationships with staff and fellow treatment participants. These bonds both enhance and inform the recovery process.

iv) Outpatient Addiction Treatment

While the traditional outpatient and intensive outpatient programs effectively provide standalone services for dependency treatment, these programs tend to be more valuable when they are used to support inpatient rehab.

In this capacity, outpatient programs may help a person to adjust to sobriety after receiving treatment. As a step-down service, the outpatient programs assist the person to successfully adjust to changes in lifestyle which are associated with sobriety.

v) Aftercare and Alumni Services

Wisconsin aftercare and alumni services of dependency support may help a person to remain inspired and completely focused on their goals of recovery.

Aftercare and alumni services in Wisconsin may include:

  • Community outreach programs
  • Online recovery resources and support groups
  • Mentorship programs
  • Peer support groups
  • Self-improvement classes
  • Sober-living homes

Regardless of the drug rehab type you settle for, there is a high probability that you will find the following therapy kinds in place at the addiction recovery facility of your choice:

  • 12-step and non-12 support groups
  • Addiction education
  • Aftercare programs
  • Alcoholics Anonymous
  • Alumni programs
  • Cognitive behavioral therapy
  • Complementary therapies, including equine therapy, yoga, meditation, biofeedback, massage therapy, and journaling
  • Coping techniques
  • Couples counseling
  • Detox programs
  • Dialectical behavior therapy
  • Exercise therapy
  • External support groups
  • Family therapy
  • Group therapy meetings
  • Individual counseling
  • Inpatient programs
  • Intensive outpatient programs
  • Intervention services
  • Life skills training
  • Nutritional therapy
  • Outpatient programs
  • Relapse prevention
  • Sober living homes
  • Stress management
  • Vocational training

Getting Help

It is paramount that you get assistance as fast as possible once you realize that you are suffering from addiction. The earlier you access a Wisconsin rehab program and begin treatment, the higher your chances of completely readjusting to sobriety and normal function are.

CITATIONS

https://afmc.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/OADAP_SEOW-2017-State-Report-Book_v3.3PRINT.pdf

https://www.carnevaleassociates.com/our-work/emerging-drug-trends-prevention-issue-brief.html

https://www.dea.gov/sites/default/files/2018-11/DIR-032-18%202018%20NDTA%20final%20low%20resolution.pdf

https://www.getsmartaboutdrugs.gov/news-statistics/emerging-drug-trends

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK234579/

https://www.shadac.org/publications/50-state-analysis-drug-overdose-trends-evolving-opioid-crisis-across-states

https://www.unodc.org/documents/wdr/WDR_2010/2.0_Drug_statistics_and_Trends.pdf

https://www.drugabuse.gov/opioid-summaries-by-state/wisconsin-opioid-summary

https://www.lakeviewhealth.com/resources/statistics-by-state/wisconsin/


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Cities with Drug Rehab Centers in Wisconsin

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